We are pleased to announce a call for applications for the AI-HUB@LMU Prizes to recognize outstanding contributions in artificial intelligence. Two awards are available: the Prize for the Most Innovative AI-Based Research Project, offering €3,000 plus €2,000 for related expenses, and the Prize for the Best Master's Thesis in the Field of AI, awarding €1,000. Applications are open to LMU researchers and students, with a submission deadline of June 1, 2025. These prizes are generously sponsored by the Münchener Universitätsgesellschaft.

LMU spin-offs secured a record €230 million in investments in 2024, supporting research transfer and innovation across various fields. Among them are companies working with AI technologies, such as deepc GmbH, which develops AI-powered diagnostic imaging software to improve accuracy and efficiency in radiology. This reflects LMU’s ongoing role in advancing research-based applications.

Prof. Dr. Jörg Drechsler, appointed in April 2024 as Professor of Statistics with a Focus on Labor Market Research at LMU, is advancing methods to securely utilize digital data while safeguarding individual privacy. His research addresses the critical balance between enabling access to valuable information, particularly in medical contexts where data restrictions can have severe consequences, and ensuring robust data protection. Prof. Drechsler emphasizes that simple pseudonymization is insufficient, as individuals can often be re-identified through unique data combinations. His work focuses on developing statistical techniques that allow researchers to extract meaningful insights from data without compromising personal privacy.

Prof. Dr. Friederike Funk, Professor of Social Psychology with a focus on Legal Psychology at LMU, has secured a four-year grant from the Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt) starting March 2025. The funded project investigates psychological factors influencing trust in AI-assisted decision-making within the legal system, examining perspectives of victims, defendants, and society.

Dr. Christoph Heilig, leader of the research group "Focalization in Early Christian Narratives" at LMU, has been appointed to the Junges Kolleg of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BAdW) as of March 1, 2025. His project, "Theology Between Sacred Scriptures and AI-Generated Texts," examines the impact of large language models on the hermeneutics and interpretation of the New Testament, while also exploring theology's contributions to AI discourse.

The Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ) and NVIDIA are hosting a Bootcamp on Accelerated Distributed Computing on March 26, 2025, at the LRZ in Garching. The workshop will focus on parallelization strategies for large-scale AI models, covering communication systems like NCCL and implementation tools such as NeMo Megatron and Profiler. Participants will gain hands-on experience in optimizing distributed computing workflows, with a focus on efficiency and scalability in AI applications.

On April 9, 2025, from 9:30 to 11:30 am, the PROFiL initiative will host a roundtable titled "Prüfen im Wandel" ("Examinations in Transition"). The event aims to bring together experts from law, IT, AI, examination offices, educational didactics, faculty, and students to discuss current developments in examination processes. Prof. Dr. Josef Aulehner from the Faculty of Law will present on "Examination Law – Selected Current Issues," and Prof. Dr. Matthias Stadler, Deputy Director of the Institute for Didactics and Educational Research in Medicine at LMU Klinikum, will discuss "Examination Simulation with AI in Medical Education."

On March 21, 2025, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, the GraduateCenter^LMU is hosting a workshop titled "Scientific Research and Writing with AI". Designed for doctoral candidates and postdocs, the workshop will explore the functionality of language-based generative AI models, legal considerations in academia, effective prompting techniques, and the integration of AI tools such as ChatGPT, Connected Papers, Research Rabbit, Scispace, and DeepL into research workflows. Participants will engage in hands-on sessions to test and reflect on these tools' applications in scientific research and writing